Intel Researchers Develop CMOS Radio Supporting All Flavors Of The 802.11 Wi-Fi Standard

[Andre Kesteloot]

http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/20050617net.htm
 
The main claim-to-fame for the device is that it is capable of 100MHz 
signal bandwidth, a spec that Intel's paper describes as meeting the 
requirements of the "power envelope demands of multiple radio (MIMO) 
systems". The company also used this capability to assert that the 
design "could support emerging requirements of next generation WLAN 
standards (802.11n)".
 
But any 802.11n claims for the prototype are premature. Without MAC and 
baseband functions to handle the complex signal processing requirements 
of both the TGn Sync and WWiSE camps' 802.11n draft proposals, Intel's 
prototype, at best, addresses only a part of what would be required for 
a complete 802.11n solution.
 
While the device may be a step forward for Intel, other vendors are 
farther along in wireless chip integration. Atheros in May announced 
<http://www.tomsnetworking.com/News_story_1087.php> its ROCm 
(Radio-on-Chip for Mobile) family including single-band and dual-band 
devices that incorporate MAC, baseband, and RF functions, but not the 
output power amp.

Israeli startup Metalink also recently announced 
<http://www.tomsnetworking.com/News_story_1091.php> a single-chip RF 
MIMO device incorporating two independent transmit and receive RF 
chains. And MIMO market leader Airgo Networks is expected to soon 
announce a more integrated version of its TrueMIMO technology.

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